Urge Overkill - Fall Euro Tour

Urge Overkill, riding the momentum of its latest release Rock and Roll Submarine, has line up a few weeks of shows in Europe in November. Tour dates are below.

The band just finished up a round of US shows, including this one in New York Harbor on the Rocks Off cruise boat. Those shows are always fun for band and fans.

NY Examiner wrote:
"Settled on the top deck, Kato, dressed dapper in white pants paired with matching, lime green shoes, belt and shirt, dressed for the occasion, along with bassist Mike Hodgkiss in his Elvis-inspired, white suit get up. After the band posed for a quick photo, they moseyed downstairs, opening with “Effigy” then going back in time through their 16-song set, pulling from 1993’s Saturation with seven tracks, including “Back on Me,” “Bottle of Fur,” ‘Erica Kane,” “Positive Bleeding.” The band even threw in “(Now That's) The Barclords” from their 1992 EP Stull and “Vacation in Tokyo” from The Supersonic Storybook one year it’s junior, while Exit the Dragon (1995) and Submarine got equal credit with with three songs each. Submarine’s title song, along with two newer tracks, “Poison Flower” and “Quiet Person” (first of three encore songs), rounded out the set, which closed on a boat-shaking “Sister Havana.”

Here's the band kicking out a version of 'Effigy" from its Chicago gig in May 2011.

Urge Overkill: Effigy from Jim McKenzie on Vimeo.

Urge Overkill Euro Tour
11/09/11 Bremen Tower Germany
11/10/11 Gent Charaton Belgium
11/11/11 Cologne Yard Club Germany
11/12/11 Berlin Comet Germany
11/14/11 Frankfurt Nachtleben Germany
11/15/11 Munich Backstage Club Germany
11/16/11 Mezzago Bloom Italy
11/17/11 Rome Init Club Italy
11/18/11 Treviso New Age Club Italy
11/19/11 Ravenna Rock Planet Italy
11/20/11 Zurich Exit Switzerland
11/22/11 Paris Le Bus Palladium France
11/23/11 London Borderline United Kingdom

Art vs. Science - New LP, Phoenix August show

Art vs. Science is an Australian electro-punk-dance band with a new LP out called "Magic Fountain".

Art vs. Science is HUGE in its home country, playing sold-out shows and
headlining festivals all over the continent. Art vs. Science has two independently released EPs (both of which have gone Gold, and now one has reached Platinum). Read more about them at the Wikipedia page. The band says it makes "dance music made for Marshall stacks." How cool is that?

Grab an New Wave Acid Remix of the band's "Magic Fountain" here. Yes, it's boss.

Art vs. Science is scheduled to play Bar Smith in downtown Phoenix on August 19th. It's part of the band's rare U.S. tour. You can see/hear "Magic Fountain" at the band's official video below. It's awesome, btw.


Here are the dates below:
ART VS. SCIENCE TOUR DATES

08/11 MIAMI, FL Electric Pickle
08/12 NEW YORK, NY Bowery Ballroom
08/13 CHICAGO, IL North Halsted Market Days
08/14 CHICAGO, IL Empty Bottle
08/18 TUCSON, AZ Club Congress
08/19 PHOENIX, AZ Brick
08/20 MEXICO CITY, MEXICO Voila Acoustique
08/21 VANCOUVER, BC Fortune Sound Club
08/23 PORTLAND, OR Doug Fir
08/24 SAN FRANCISCO, CA Bottom Of The Hill
08/25 SONOMA, CA Ampitheatre
08/26 SAN DIEGO, CA Casbah
08/27 LOS ANGELES, CA Sunset Junction (w/ The Hundres Days, Art Brut, Butthole Surfers, Melvins)
08/28 TACOMA, WA Grit City Fest

Rock Clip of the Week - The Flaming Lips and Lightning Bolt

Thanks to Hitflix for tipping us off to the new video collaboration from The Flaming Lips and Lightning Bolt on a track they call "I Wanna Get High But I Don't Want Brain Damage". Excellent title, that.

The clip below comes complete with Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne introduction, telling fans "...some of it's a little funny, some of it's a little disturbing", but he declares that it's entertaining overall. Love that guy.

Hitflix writes:
"In the meantime, all four tracks has snorted their way onto YouTube, for your pleasure below; NASA and dropping acid seem to be the recurring theme. Like Lightning Bolt songs, brevity is not their strong suit. And like Flaming Lips songs, the tracks bubble over like movements or acts, rather than behave like one, strong tune. And like both bands, the result can be simply weird and merciless. Exhibit A: the video to "I Want to Get High But I Don't Want Brain Damage." YOU'RE WELCOME!

Thursday Bonanza!

Dribs and drabs from the InterKnot all week:

- Paul McCartney can't let go. He will be the official singing bass player at the 2012 Olympics. (via Spinner)

- Guns 'n Roses bassist (and favorite thing) Tommy Stinson has announced a forthcoming LP "One Man Mutiny" for release August 30th. Spin has track 3 from the LP "Meant to Be" where Tommy channels his inner Dylan. Bob, not Thomas.

- There will be a U2 documentary to open the Toronto Film Festival on September 8th. "Called From The Sky Down it charts the release of the Irish rock band's Achtung Baby album in 1991, and is the first documentary to open the festival."

- After August Euro festivals, The Horrors will be touring the US of A to promote thir new CD "Skying".

- "If you want it, you can have it...." Check out a rockin' Dfactor number called "See the Perfection" - track two from our recent EP. See pictures from our band's last show up at our Facebook page.

- And here is your moment of rock n roll zen - possibly the greatest recording ever made. The Fendermen's "MuleSkinner Blues":

San Diego Johnny Rad Fest this weekend

You like garage rock? Then you should be in San Diego this Thursday-Sunday for the 4th annual Johnny Rad Fest (love that name) garage rock fest. It's a three-night music festival put on by the cool kids at Brixton who love rock and roll, make cool clothes and accessories and like to have fun.

The LA Times writes:
"The brightest hope is San Diego’s three-night Johnny Rad Fest, which returns for its fourth year this weekend. The diverse, all-star lineup includes costumed keyboard punks the Spits, Indiana’s garage pop Half Rats, the vocal-driven Shannon and the Clams, psych-leaning hard rock from one-time Reatard Ryan Wong’s Tokyo Electron, and legendary garage rock icon and founding member of the Oblivians Greg Cartwright with his soulful Reigning Sound.

Indiana transplant and Lurkville skateboard entrepreneur Tyrone Taylor started the festival in 2008, when he realized he wasn’t going to be able to make it to that year’s Gonerfest. “It was kind of far away,” he said in an interview Monday. “There were a lot of bands playing I wanted to see that weren’t really local California bands.” Rad Fest, as it is affectionately known to regulars, was intended to correct that omission –- and hopefully enrich San Diego’s anemic garage music scene."

Time for The Shakes!

If you're still feeling down about that mysterious death in London of a certain bluesy soul singer, then I've got just the right thing to pick up your spirits, and get you back into a new musical orgasm! It's right here in the good ol' US of A. Meet The Shakes!

I'm listening to the tunes from The Shakes' Reverbnation widget right below and holy wow, it sounds good! Tell me that this group from Athens, Alabama has got a cool southern stylin' sound going on! Looks from all appearances that singer-guitarist Brittany Howard is the meat and bones behind this group, and she does a fine job of rockin' it. If you need soulful singing, swampy guitar, a driving beat and ballsy songs, then you should shake a stick at The Shakes. Sounds pretty perfect to me! Like them on Facebook.

There's also photo video below that with a song called Be Mine. Love it! (Thanks to Kingblind for the tipoff.)

Soul Asylum - Chicago show live, classic video

Soul Asylum played Chicago's Sheffield Garden Walk music fest this past weekend. and you can grab the link to the recording here.

Dave Pirner looks to have grown out his hair again, and he still sings like a motherfucker. Dan Murphy still rocks hard. The Replacements-connected rhythm section of Tommy Stinson on bass and Michael Bland on drums fills out Soul Asylum's sound. The band sounds great above on 'Gravity'.

Setlist:
01: Marionette
02: Easy Street
03: Somebody to Shove
04: Misery
05: Lately
06: Whatcha Need
07: Black Gold
08: Without a Trace
09: When I Ran Off and Left Her *
10: Gravity
11: Cartoon #
12: Into the Light
13: Never Really Been
14: Runaway Train
15: Closer to the Stars
16: Just Like Anyone
17: Stand Up and Be Strong
Encore:
18: Oxygen
19: My Generation ^
----------------------------
* Vic Chesnutt cover
# w/Gone 'Til November lyrics (Wyclef Jean)
^ The Who cover


Here's a classic version of the band's "Somebody to Shove" from Tokyo years ago:

Phil Collins carried out at MOJO Awards

Ex-Genesis drummer and solo musician Phil Collins apparently suffers from spinal damage caused, he says, by years of stooping over a drum kit for his profession.

Well, over the weekend at the MOJO Music Awards show in London, Collins was supposed to present an award to Ringo Starr, but had to be half carried out' due to his ongoing pain.

Rock News Desk (really!) writes:
"Retired Genesis drummer Phil Collins was helped out of an awards ceremony in agony at the weekend, suffering from an attack of the nerve damage which forced him to give up performing. And he admitted he couldn’t return to the stage even if he wanted to – which he doesn’t."

Here's Phil being interviewed on the way into the awards show, and his voice is certainly stilted and a little off-kilter. Take Away the Pain, indeed.

Slade Live, PopGala 1973 - The Netherlands

Noddy Holder, possessor of top 10 frontman voices in rock n roll, leads his band Slade here in cheery renditions of 'Cuz I Love You' and 'Take Me Bak Home' from a concert called Popgala in Voorburg, The The Netherlands way back in 1973. That's a kick-ass way to start your Monday, am I right? :-)



Other bands on this rockbill included Rory Gallagher, The Faces (with Rod), The Eagles (WTF?) and Ry Cooder. For those of you who like to download and make DVDs I guess you can do that at this link. Rock 'n Roll!

Dfactor Rock Show Tonight! Hollywood Alley, Phoenix/Mesa, AZ

It's that time of the month again! My rockin' trio Dfactor gets out to Hollywood Alley in Mesa, AZ for another rock and roll show! This one's got the goods all lined up. Four fine bands, including the 2nd or 3rd public outing by The Persuaders, who play right after Dfactor, and Honey Pistol and Haymarket Squares.

We have three new original as-yet-unrecorded Dfactor corkers we're spitting out (Walking Out on Love, Useless Knowledge and Sucking my Soul), along with crowd faves from our 2011 'Head in the Clouds' EP, 2009's "Slashing the Sunlight" and 2008's "Say Yeah!" earlier CDs.

Here's the lineups:
DFACTOR 9PM
THE PERSUADERS 10PM
HONEY PISTOL 11PM
HAYMARKET SQUARES 12AM

The Hollywood Alley is a fine AZ rock club, and local host of the International Pop Overthrow Phoenix. The club is located at 2610 W. Baseline Road, just off the 101 freeway.

'David Bowie: Starman' - NYT Book Review

Today's New York Times review of the new David Bowie book "Starman" (authored by Paul Trynka) brings a fresh look at the man called 'The Chameleon of Rock', for his ever skin-shifting ways across his 40-year career.

Reviewer Dwight Garner writes:
"In his thoroughgoing new biography, “David Bowie: Starman,” the British rock journalist Paul Trynka considers at length the startling androgyny that made Mr. Bowie a defining human being of the 1970s. About Mr. Bowie’s flamboyant alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, and his band, the Spiders From Mars, Mr. Trynka writes, these guys were “dangerous, a warning to lock up not only your daughters but also your sons.”

But as all of us who adored Bowie in the 1970s almost gave up completely on him in the dreadful 1980s. Garner continues:

"What cool giveth, cool can taketh away. By the time Mr. Bowie entered my consciousness in the early 1980s, when I was in high school, he’d gone mainstream, and I loathed him in a way that only an ardent young record buyer can loathe. His new hits — “Let’s Dance,” “China Girl” — blurted from car radios like flatulence. He did a Pepsi commercial. Mr. Trynka quotes the music writer Charles Shaar Murray, wonderfully, about Mr. Bowie’s puzzling career choices during the ’80s. “I suddenly thought, He’s turned into a rock-and-roll version of Prince Charles,” Mr. Murray said, noting the “old-fashioned haircut like a lemon meringue on his head.” Yes, we all remember how THAT looked!

In summing, Garner says “David Bowie: Starman” is a better-than-average rock biography, but just barely. It’s patient and respectable without being quite likable, without ever quite becoming your friend. When you put this heavy thing down, it doesn’t call out to be seized back up again quickly. You may begin to circle its bulk warily."

David Bowie is readying himself for a final 2012 farewell tour next summer, spliyt between Europe and the US of A. Here are the dates:

06-23-2012 – O2 Arena, London, UK
06-27-2012 – Madrid Arena, Madrid, Spain
07-01-2012 – Palais Omnisports De Paris Bercy, Paris, France
07-04-2012 – PalaLottomatica, Rome, Italy
07-08-2012 – O2 World, Berlin, Germany
07-11-2012 – Wiener Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
07-20-2012 – St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
07-24-2012 – Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
07-27-2012 – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
08-01-2012 – Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada
08-06-2012 – Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
08-10-2012 – Staples Center, Los Angeles, California

Maybe he'll play this one...

Sex Pistols - Live in Holland 12/11/1977

On October 27 1977, The Sex Pistols' "Never Mind the Bollocks" LP was released by Virgin Records in the UK and in Europe. A few weeks later, the band went to Holland to do some shows, spending December 5-14 in the Netherlands.

Captured by Dutch TV cameras are the Sex Pistols doing 'Pretty Vacant' and 'Anarchy in the UK' on December 11, 1977 in Maasbree, Holland, according to the tour itinerary for the Pistols. The dates were as follows:
Dutch Tour
5.12.77 Eksit Club, Rotterdam, Holland
6.12.77 Maastricht, Holland
7.12.77 Pozjet Club, Tilburg, Holland
8.12.77 Stokuishal, Arnhem, Holland
9.12.77 De Effenaar, Eindhoven, Holland
10.12.77 Huize Maas, Groningen, Holland
11.12.77 Maf Centrum, Maasbree, Holland
13.12.77 De Klinker, Wimschoten, Holland - CANCELLED
14.12.77 Eksit Club, Rotterdam, Holland - CANCELLED



There is longer footage from this Dutch show. Here's Part 1 (no embedding), featuring singing, drinking Dutchmen early on, followed by some manifesto action by Malcolm McLaren (at the 3:00 mark), then live footage of the Pistols at the 4:30 mark, doing EMI, then onto Part 2, which replicates the clip above for Pretty Vacant and Anarchy in the UK.

Has there ever been a frontman like Johnny Rotten before or since? Stunning.

Thursday Pharmacology

It's Thursday, Thursday, everybody knows it's Thursday, and that's one day before Friday. Here are some bits of musical minutia from the flotsam and jetstream of rock and roll.

- You can download a copy of the new tribute to Nirvana collection "Newermind" over at SPIN.com's Facebook page.

- Veteran British rocker Peter Frampton is touring his 1970s live LP "Frampton Comes Alive" and playing the pot-rolling-vinyl-sleeve epic in its entirety across the US over the next few weeks. Check here for dates and tickets.

- Robert Pollard, Chris Slusarenko and John Moen call themselves Boston Spaceships and they've recorded a double CD of rock and roll goodness, which arrives in early August. It's called 'Let It Beard' and here's a scrumptious Who-pop track from it called "Tabby and Lucy":
Boston Spaceships: "Tabby And Lucy" (Prefix Premiere) by prefixmag

- VH1 is promoting its two music shows - "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp" and "That Metal Show" are back and bigger than ever with an all-star lineup of legendary music icons that are sure to get metal and rock enthusiasts pumped up. Tune in to VH1 Classic on Saturday, August 20 beginning at 10 PM ET/PT for the ultimate music experience.

The Beatles first US show pics auctioned tonight

After a week of viewing, a load of photos shot by an 18 yr. old Mike Mitchell of the Beatles' first US show in Washington DC will be auctioned tonight.

The auction will be at Christie's in New York. From its site:
"On July 20, Christie's is pleased to present The Beatles Illuminated: The Discovered Works of Mike Mitchell, a sale comprised of nearly 50 lots of unpublished and never-before-seen photographs of the Beatles’ first hysteria-inducing visits to America in 1964. Shot in black and white by photographer Mike Mitchell when he was just 18 years old, the images have been filed away for nearly fifty years. The complete rediscovered collection is expected to realize in the region of $100,000."

Read here how he got the shots:
"In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Mitchell described the rollicking scene at the Washington indoor arena _ not only of screaming fans but also of his unrestricted access.
"It was a long time ago. Things weren't that way then," said the 65-year-old, who now works as an art photographer in Washington. "It was as low-tech as the concert itself. The concert was in a sports venue and the sound system was the sound system of a sports venue."
Equally astonishing is how few other photographs from that first concert exist.
Simeon Lipman, Christie's pop culture consultant, said it's not clear why there weren't many other photos of the concert. He said Mitchell's black and white photographs were remarkable for their "animated" and "intimate" depiction of the Fab Four."

Storm destroys stage at Cheap Trick concert in Ottawa

Wow! You might say Cheap Trick brought the house down on Sunday night at Toronto's Ottawa Bluesfest.

Here they are playing "I Want You To Want Me" at the Ottawa Bluesfest last night:


and the next thing you know, the 90-mph winds are bringing the stage down.


The AP wrote: "Cheap Trick had been playing for about 20 minutes when howling winds and storm suddenly clouds blew in. The band quickly left as the stage began to collapse, sending about 10,000 fans scrambling to make their way to safety."

Cheap Trick's Robin Zander shot this clip himself a bit later as he looked at the back of the stage:


More at Rolling Stone.

New Order/Joy Division 'Total' compilation

There is a new compilation of remastered classic Joy Division and New Order songs out (import in US) called "Total".

And while the members of New Order are out promoting it to the UK press, they are slagging each other off so much as if to signal an end to New Order, reports the Guardian UK in a sad, but often amusing interview titled "Joyless divisions".

About Peter Hook and his formation of a band that plays Joy Division classics:
"He formed a band called the Light, who play whole Joy Division albums in their live shows and have released an EP of Joy Division covers. (Sumner: "There was a way back from that other stuff. But not with what he's doing with Joy Division.") "Oh bollocks! Bernard never even liked playing old songs," Hook says. "He thought Joy Division were depressing. If I'd asked him for permission, they'd have told me to fuck off anyway."

And Bernard Sumner, JD/NO guitarist and singer notes:
"Too many things have been said and done," nods Bernard Sumner, the "twat" of Hook's complaint. "We've spent all our life as an outfit with principles and ideals and what Peter" – Sumner makes a face like some appalling insect has just flown into his mouth – "has done goes against everything we've stood for."

Let's remember the great music produced by both bands during their heydey. Here's New Order doing 'Regret' at the 1998 Reading Festival:

PItchfork Music Festival (Chgo) - Day 1

Day 1 of the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago is over. Music acts included Neko Case, Das Racist, Guided by Voices, James Blake, Currency and Animal Collective. Read Day 1 reviews here, here and here.

Here's GBV doing "Echos Myron" at the start of their set:


Here's James Blake doing 'CMYK':


Here's Das Racist doing their song 'Brand New Dance':


[Thanks to YouTube user The Happy Chromosomes for being Johnny on the camera.]

Potter Rock

Classic LP covers re-imagined with Deathly Hallows characters. Fun stuff. (via Nextmovieblog)

Rock Photo of the Week

Here's a fun photo - I call it the rock photo of the week - taken this week from a Brooklyn, NY show for the House of Vans festival featuring Superchunk, Off! and others. Photo by Andrew St. Clair. He captures.....something right. Read all about the show at Brooklyn Vegan.

MidWeek Altamont Pitchapalooza Blues

So the All-Star game has passed, and if I'm not mistaken, if was a dull affair last night. One homer pretty much sealed the deal? I saw it. Did I miss anything else? Didn't think so. So let's resume the Rock of Ages.

- Wanna go on a cruise ship with the missus this winter? Why not try The Weezer Cruise? It's got the band Weezer and pals like J. Mascis, Lou Barlow, Free Energy, Wavves, Ozma and others to play on the cruise and keep your evenings elevated. $800 a room for a double, or $600 for a foursome.

- Or better yet, Urge Overkill is playing a harbor boat rock show tonight in NYC. Hurry up - boat leaves in an hour.

- The Monkees' Davy Jones ranks on The Monkees' Mike Nesmith (via Spinner):
"Mike had the B-side of every single we did. Therefore, he's driving an El Dorado, and I'm driving a Volkswagen. I'm not aware of any of this -- I'm an actor, employed by a studio. I'm not doing any of that. He knew all about that. If he had spent more time on his acting, that would have been better, but he didn't show up half the time. He wouldn't come in for a show or whatever. And then we find that he's got albums and he's got deals and all that other stuff going on. So Mike never really put his 100 percent into the marriage. He only was on the surface of the marriage. He signed the paper not with us, but with other people. And that's the way he is whenever he's come back. In 1998-1999, we made an album and we went to England, we sold out everywhere. We arranged to meet in January for a week's rehearsal, and he just didn't show up."

- During my morning hike, here's a sampling of what I listened to on my portable music player:
* Beach House "Norway"
* Butch Walker "Pretty Melody"
* Deerhunter "Desire Lines"
* The Fendermen "Muleskinner Blues"
* Eddy Current Suppression Ring "Anxiety"
* Admiral Radley "I Heart California"
* Teenage Bottlerocket "In the Basement"
* The Dickies "Nights in White Satin"

Because I love you. Yes, I love you.

KISS - Live "Shout it Out Loud/Rock and Roll All Nite"

KISS on tour! Rockin' it for the New Hampshirians! KISS perform "Shout It Out Loud" & "Rock and Roll All Nite" at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH on 7/12/11. Still classic after all these years.

Paul Weller Monday

YouTube said I might like this live concert featuring Paul Weller and his band from seven summers ago, August 2004, from the Haldern Pop Festival in Germany. And you know what? I did! I hope you do too! It's just a shade under one hour, all the slow between song bits snipped out.



A review of the show from Holland's Incendiary Magazine wrote:
"Paul Weller's got a new covers album all the way, where he's taken some of his favourite songs and MODified them. His Haldern setlist pretty much ignored that though, and concentrated on the crowd pleasing hits we all wanted to hear. Out of the Sinking sounded fantastic and watching Weller and Craddock sparring off each other was a sight to behold, Broken Stones was as beautiful as always and the amount of improvisation placed throughout the set just proved to me how much fun Weller's having with this band. Of course the biggest cheers were reserved for the old Jam numbers, with A Town Called Malice sounding as fresh and vibrant as it did in its youth and That's Entertainment sending the crowd into a frenzy but Weller's growing into his Modfather coat with grace and pride, and when he's on this kind of form, he's always worth spending your money on. This was a great festival set, it's just a shame there was no Sunflower."

Friday Rock Wrap - U2, Peter Frampton, Ringo Starr, Buzzcocks

It's nearly the weekend again (THAT was quick!), so let's wrap up what we missed during the shortened week.

- U2 and Interpol played Chicago's massive Soldier Field this week. See U2's setlist here. The Claw set was 'noticeably battered and worn' but thankfully U2 still pulled off the goods, per the Chicago Sun Times:
-- "The show has changed slightly since the tour first landed in Soldier Field in September 2009. The Claw is noticeably battered and worn, and the band is playing far fewer songs from “No Line on the Horizon” (Tuesday we only got three, including a wonderfully rich, trippy romp through “Get on Your Boots”). Early in the set, though, they threw in a nice addition: “Out of Control,” the first U2 single from 1979, which Bono dedicated to “my true love, who’s here tonight.”

- Music site Pure Volume, which I referenced on Facebook the other day about my 2006 rock covers series, has announced a new PureVolume Live series showcasing live songs by up and comers like Oh Land, Jonquil and Anberlin.

- Ringo Starr is celebrating being confident and sober (again?) and Rolling Stone calls him the "fifty-one-year-old Starr". Um, boys, if Ringo's 51, I'm in my 20s.

- It was January 1976 when British rocker Peter Frampton's "Frampton Comes Alive" double LP arrived and broke all sorts of sales records for that time (15 million sold or something at the time?). Well, Peter's celebrating those halcyon days with a tour where he and his band are playing the live LP in its entirety. Glad to read that Peter likes 'Lines on My Face' best - that was alway my fave from the LP.

- It was July 20 1976 when the Britain's legendary punk band The Buzzcocks made their debut at Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall, supporting the Sex Pistol's 2nd Manchester gig (the first was in early June 1976). Here's the raw film of The Buzzcocks below, with the recorded version of 'Breakdown' overlaid on it. History.

Manchester Orchestra - New 'Simple Math' LP

Manchester Orchestra is a Atlanta, GA-based band that's been churnng out the rock for a few years now, and their latest LP called 'Simple Math' is starting to get raves from cool blogs and the likes of Drowned in Sound.

Here's the band playing the title track 'Simple Math' for AOL-Spinner:



In an interview with Spinner, the band's singer-guitarist Andy Hull talks about his band's newfound success after slogging it out for awhile.

Spinner: You're playing Lollapalooza for the fourth time. You played five years ago, probably to a lot less people. How do you feel?

Hull: I feel like its taken six years. At the end of it, it's like kind of surreal because it all passed so quickly. It's like we lost six years of our life. I have no idea where it went. It's really cool to see the reward. No one knew who we were. The festival didn't believe we were playing when we tried to get into Lollapalooza the first time we played. It took us four hours to get inside the festival, and we were playing. That's just the way we've done it. It's slow and steady, and it's grinding.

It's kind of a new time in music where it's the wild, wild west and we can make up our own rules, and we can make up what we want to do and I think that's what we're going to plan on doing is figuring out the next steps of our band. How we're going to be innovative and different, because obviously releasing a f---ing amazing concept record with not one bad song on it doesn't work anymore. Because we just did it."


Lots of chances to see the band this summer - click here for tour dates for Manchester Orchestra.

New Phoenix Rock Clubs - The Crescent Ballroom and The Foundry on 1st

It's a good time right now for Phoenix, AZ music fans. Two new big music clubs are opening up in the downtown district with cool bands and hopefully good vibes. The Foundry on 1st opens this weekend, and The Crescent Ballroom is booking shows for an expected fall opening.

The Foundry on 1st is the new brainchild of longtime Phoenix promoter Danny Zelisko, who knows this city's music history and scene probably better than anyone. Billboard wrote about his departure from Clear Channel earlier this year, and now he's running on all cylinders with his new club The Foundry on 1st. Upcoming shows include Blondie, The Tubes and garage rockers The Love Me Nots.

This weekend's show features Cowboy Mouth, veteran New Orleans rock and roll band. Here's a shot of the Foundry on 1st's recent construction, and from it, you can get a sense of the staging and room for bands and the audience. Picture from its Facebook page.




There's another club on the horizon as well. The Crescent Ballroom looks to be the new downtown Phoenix venue for Charlie Levy, the well-known music promoter of Stateside Presents.

The Crescent Ballroom has lined up popular dance rock acts like Gang Gang Dance and M83, as well as indie bands The Album Leaf and Liam Finn (son of Crowded House's Neil Finn).

Having both of these venues in downtown Phoenix looks to be a good impetus to drive more people to the city for shows, rather than neighboring Tempe and Scottsdale. Looking forward to seeing shows at both!

The Pixies "Lost Cities" Tour - Fall 2011

The Pixies have announced a 'Lost Cities' tour to play its classic 1989 LP 'Doolittle" in cities the band apparently never has played.

To lure fans in, the band is doing a special tee with your ticket purchase and more. To wit:
"For a single, all-in price (which includes the ticket cost, facility fees, ticket fees, and all of the postage and handling charges) fans will receive a ticket to the show and a limited edition shirt, delivered to right to your door. The shirt is available in both men's and women's sizes, and this design will only be available during this pre-sale. It will never again be publicly sold! A really special "one off."

For shows with reserved seating, pre-sale purchasers will be seated in the best section of the venue, and arranged in order of purchase. Click "seating chart" in the tour listing to see where pre-sale seats are located. All tickets will be claimed at Will Call on the night of the show. Every single pre-sale ticket comes with a t-shirt, shipped directly to the purchasing fan."

The pre-sale ends next week. Read more about the Pixies tour at the L Magazine. Here are the dates.

OCTOBER
27 - Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ
28 - Asbury Park Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ
29 - Palace Theatre, Waterbury, CT
30 - Hampton Beach Ballroom, Hampton Beach, NH

NOVEMBER
1 - State Theatre, Portland, ME
2 - The Armory, Rochester, NY
3 - State Theatre Center for the Arts, Easton, PA
5 - Paramount Theatre, Huntington, NY
6 - Grand Opera House, Wilmington, DE
8 - War Memorial Auditorium, Greensboro, NC
9 - Louisville Palace Theatre, Louisville, KY
10 - Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, TN
11 - North Charleston Performing Arts Center, North Charleston, SC
14 - Orpheum Theatre, Memphis, TN
15 - Bricktown Events Center, Oklahoma, OK
16 - Santa Fe Center, Sante Fe, NM
18 - Fox Theatre, Bakersfield, CA
20 - The Uptown Theatre, Napa, CA
21 - Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz, CA

Relive Duran Duran '82 on "Rio"

Duran Duran may have suffered a recent setback with singer Simon Le Bon's voice caving in, leading to a suspended summer European tour, but fans can console themselves with "Hammersmith '82" a live CD/DVD remastered release of an awesome show in 1982 at London's Hammersmith Odeon.

Buy the CD/DVD at Amazon.

The blurbists write:
"LIVE AT HAMMERSMITH 82! is a much anticipated release among followers of the band. Previously unreleased, it will come as a double DVD and CD pack, allowing fans to both enjoy the visual spectacle of the concert and CD audio, too. Filmed and recorded in the latter part of 1982 as Duranmania was sweeping the UK, the performance at London's Hammersmith Odeon includes Rio, Hungry like the Wolf, Girls on Film, fan favourite Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) and more. The release also includes all the Rio era videos and two previously unreleased Top of the Pops performances."

The Durannies YouTube site didn't let me embed their version, so we'll have to make up for it with a lesser quality clip from the same show from 7th Stranger.

Here's some live 'Rio' from Duran Duran:

Big Star documentary 'Nothing Can Hurt Me"

There *is* a documentary on legendary 70s Memphis powerpop band Big Star coming sometime this year...yes, you too will be able to hear the ins and outs of the story behind that band that just didn't quite make it huge in 1974 when it should have.



It seems like the new doc will be made up of a lot of tribute footage from the 2010 shows at SXSW right before Alex Chilton died. There's footage in the trailer/screener below with The Posies' Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer, playing with original guitarist Alex Chilton (who died in March 2010) and drummer Jody Stephens, as well as soundbites from The Meat Puppets' Curt Kirkwood, Lemonheads' Evan Dando, REM's Mike Mills, John Doe's X and others.

Here's the 9-minute screener....

nothing can hurt me: the Big Star story (trailer) on Vimeo.

Here's an NPR segment on Big Star as well worth hearing:

The Doors' Jim Morrison died 40 years ago - 7/3/71

The Lizard King, The Shaman, the dionysius King....whatever Ray Manzarek wants us to call him, it makes no difference. Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, died on this date in Paris, France 40 years ago, amid confusion, mystery and secrecy. The true story may never be finalized.

Did Morrison really die in his hotel room of heart failure? Or was it in the nightclub due to narcotics OD? And why have certain Doors confidantes never really opened up on the Morrison death? Click around a few of these links and check the death section here for the rabbit hole search on a number of different theories.

I'm not a huge Doors fan, but will generally keep their songs on the radio dial if it pops up. Plus, the mythology has always been kind of fun to watch from a distance. Check this from 1996:
"Manzarek plays more to the microphone. In a booming baritone, he adds his own theatrical relish to the Jim Morrison mythology when he notes that Morrison's funeral was a closed-coffin affair ("Jim Morrison was never seen dead"). Manzarek conjures quite vivid images of Morrison, beginning with their friendship as UCLA film students. And when Manzarek describes his fateful sighting of Morrison on a Southern California beach – a meeting that led to the forming of the Doors – he romanticizes almost shamelessly:
--"The sun is setting into the Pacific Ocean.... The water is glistening, and I see this figure walking along in the shallows.... As he's kicking up the water, he's making diamonds because of the way the light is hitting the water from behind, the sun coming in low and hard, and these diamonds are coming out of his feet...."

Last year's overblown When Your're Strange videography had its moments, but it wasn't anyone's Anthology by a long stretch.

In any case, watch this clip of The Doors doing what they did best - improvising on 'The End' live on Canadian TV in 1967, and then watch the later interview with the band.

The Ghastly Love of Johnny X (coming Sept. 2011)

Creed Bratton, former guitarist in late 60s pop band The Grass Roots and still manager on The Office, spoke to The Onion's AV club about a new film he's been working on called The Ghastly Love of Johnny X, in which Bratton playes an alien being.

He tells The Onion:
"I just played a very bizarre character in The Ghastly Love Of Johnny X, where I play a being from the Planet X who comes to Earth to be a rock star, succeeds hugely, then dies and is resurrected to do one last concert. When he comes alive, his face is falling apart and deteriorating. I think it’s going to be a cult classic. It like Rebel Teenagers From Outer Space meets a ’50s rockabilly musical. It’s got its tongue almost bursting through the cheek. Its director, Paul Bunnell, has a very interesting vision of life that carries through the film. It’s bizarre. It’s still funny and not trying to square off with Christopher Walken or anything."

Here's Creed talking about his alien character:


Here's the film's trailer, which seems more Rocky Horror campy musical rather than rockabilly madness. It opens (somewhere) in September 2011. Looking forward to it.

Milwaukee's Summerfest in Full Swing

A Midwestern summertime institution, Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wi. draws music fans from all over the glob for 11 days of music from all genres. Big names from this year's talent lineup include Peter Gabriel, Kanye West, The Black Keys, Meat Puppets, Neon Trees, Flaming Lips, Hall & Oates and loads more.

You can Like the fest at Facebook.

The Hives, Black-Eyed Peas, Chemical Brothers & Pulp Headline London's July 1-3 Wireless Festival

London's Hyde Park is the setting or this weekend's big Wireless Festival, featuring The Black-Eyed Peas, Chemical Brothers, Pulp and also starring festival faves The Hives and TV on the Radio.

Friday's show is already sold out. Follow the festival's goings on at its Twitter site.